Shared Bootstrap Capacitor for Multiple Phase Buck Converter Circuit and Methods
First Claim
1. A buck converter for producing a DC output voltage from a DC input voltage, comprising:
- a plurality of n switching stages, each coupled to a corresponding switching node, each of the n switching stages further comprising;
a high side MOS switch coupled between an input terminal for a positive input voltage and the corresponding switching node;
an inductor corresponding to each of the n switching stages coupled in parallel between the corresponding switching node and an output terminal and configured for providing the DC output voltage; and
high side driver circuitry configured to selectively couple a shared bootstrap capacitor to a gate terminal of a respective one of the high side MOS switches within each of the n switching stages, wherein the bootstrap capacitor is configured to charge a gate capacitance of the respective one of the high side MOS switches.
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Abstract
A multiple phase dc to dc converter with a shared bootstrap capacitor. In an embodiment, a multiple phase buck converter is disclosed including a plurality of n switching stages, each coupled to a corresponding switching node, each further including a high side driver MOS device coupled between a terminal for a positive voltage supply terminal and the corresponding switching node; and an inductor coupled in parallel between the corresponding switching node and an output terminal configured for providing the DC output voltage; and high side driver control circuitry configured to selectively couple a shared bootstrap capacitor to a gate terminal of each of the high side drivers, wherein the shared bootstrap capacitor is configured to charge a gate capacitance of each of the high side driver MOS devices. Additional embodiments are disclosed.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A buck converter for producing a DC output voltage from a DC input voltage, comprising:
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a plurality of n switching stages, each coupled to a corresponding switching node, each of the n switching stages further comprising; a high side MOS switch coupled between an input terminal for a positive input voltage and the corresponding switching node; an inductor corresponding to each of the n switching stages coupled in parallel between the corresponding switching node and an output terminal and configured for providing the DC output voltage; and high side driver circuitry configured to selectively couple a shared bootstrap capacitor to a gate terminal of a respective one of the high side MOS switches within each of the n switching stages, wherein the bootstrap capacitor is configured to charge a gate capacitance of the respective one of the high side MOS switches. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. An integrated circuit configured to provide a DC to DC voltage converter in a buck configuration, comprising:
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a plurality of n switching stages having n switching node outputs, each of the plurality of n switching stages further comprising; a high side N MOS switch device having a gate terminal and being coupled between a positive input voltage terminal and a corresponding switching node output; a low side N MOS switch device having a gate terminal and being coupled between the corresponding switching node output and a ground terminal; a high side driver that selectively couples a top plate of a bootstrap capacitor to the gate terminal of the high side N MOS switch device responsive to a control input; and high side driver control circuitry coupled to the control input of the high side driver of each of the n switching stages; whereby the bootstrap capacitor is shared between the n switching stages. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 19, 20)
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16. A method, comprising:
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charging a shared bootstrap capacitor by coupling a top plate of the shared bootstrap capacitor to a positive voltage supply while coupling a bottom plate of the shared bootstrap capacitor to a ground potential; and subsequently coupling the bottom plate of the shared bootstrap capacitor to the input voltage while simultaneously coupling the top plate of the shared bootstrap capacitor to a gate terminal of a high side N MOS switch within a selected one of n switching stages, so as to provide a bootstrapped voltage greater than the input voltage on the gate terminal of the high side N MOS switch within the selected one of the n switching stages and thereby turn on the high side N MOS switch. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18)
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Specification